'''Samba''' is a re-implementation of the SMB/CIFS networking protocol, it facilitates file and printer sharing among Linux and Windows systems as an alternative to [[NFSv4]]. Some users say that Samba is easily configured and that operation is very straight-forward. However, many new users run into problems with its complexity and non-intuitive mechanism. It is strongly suggested that the user stick close to the following directions.

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==Installation==

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'''Samba''' is a re-implementation of the SMB/CIFS networking protocol, it facilitates file and printer sharing among Linux and Windows systems as an alternative to [[NFS]]. Some users say that Samba is easily configured and that operation is very straight-forward. However, many new users run into problems with its complexity and non-intuitive mechanism. It is strongly suggested that the user stick close to the following directions.

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Installing only the {{Pkg|smbclient}}, available in the [[Official Repositories]], is sufficient for systems that are not meant to share files, only access them.

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==Required packages==

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===Server===

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To share files with Samba, install {{Pkg|samba}}, from the [[Official Repositories]].

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In order to make shares available to clients, install {{Pkg|samba}}, available in the [[Official Repositories]].

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===Client===

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Only {{Pkg|smbclient}} is required to access files from a Samba/SMB/CIFS server. It is also available from the Official Repositories.

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==Configuration==

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==Server configuration==

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=== Basic Setup ===

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The {{ic|/etc/samba/smb.conf}} file must be created before starting the service. Once that is set up, users may opt for using an advanced configuration interface like SWAT.

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The {{ic|/etc/samba/smb.conf}} file must be created before starting the daemons. Once that is set up, users may opt for using an advanced configuration interface like SWAT.

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As root, copy the default Samba configuration file to {{ic|/etc/samba/smb.conf}}:

As root, copy the default Samba configuration file to {{ic|/etc/samba/smb.conf}}:

{{bc|# cp /etc/samba/smb.conf.default /etc/samba/smb.conf}}

{{bc|# cp /etc/samba/smb.conf.default /etc/samba/smb.conf}}

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Edit {{ic|smb.conf}}. The default file creates a share for each user's home directory. It also creates a share for printers.

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===Creating a share===

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Edit {{ic|/etc/samba/smb.conf}}, scroll down to the '''Share Definitions''' section. The default configuration automatically creates a share for each user's home directory. It also creates a share for printers by default.

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More information about the options available can be found in {{ic|man smb.conf}}. [http://www.samba.org/samba/docs/man/manpages-3/smb.conf.5.html Here] is the online version.

+

There are a number of commented sample configurations included. More information about available options for shared resources can be found in {{ic|man smb.conf}}. [http://www.samba.org/samba/docs/man/manpages-3/smb.conf.5.html Here] is the on-line version.

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To make samba work, start samba [[daemon]] or make it automatically start at boot.

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===Adding a user===

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To log into a Samba share, a samba user is needed. The user '''must''' already have a [[Users and Groups|Linux user account]] with the same name on the server, otherwise running the next command will fail:

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# pdbedit -a -u <user>

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=== Shell Based Options ===

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{{Note|As of version 3.4.0, smbpasswd is no longer used by default. Existing smbpasswd databases can be [[Samba/Troubleshooting#Changes_in_Samba_version_3.4.0|converted to the new format]]}}

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====Adding users====

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−

To log into a Samba share, a samba user is needed.

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−

For Samba versions 3.4.0 and above:

+

=== Web-based configuration (SWAT)===

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{{ic|# pdbedit -a -u <user>}}

+

'''SWAT''' (Samba Web Administration Tool) is a facility that is part of the Samba suite. Whether or not to use this tool remains a matter of personal preference. It does allow for quick configuration and has context-sensitive help for each {{ic|smb.conf}} parameter. SWAT also provides an interface for monitoring of current state of connection(s), and allows network-wide MS Windows network password management.

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For earlier versions of Samba:

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{{Warning|Before using SWAT, be warned that SWAT will completely replace {{ic|/etc/samba/smb.conf}} with a fully optimized file that has been stripped of all comments, and only non-default settings will be written to the file.}}

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{{ic|# smbpasswd -a <user>}}

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−

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−

Existing smbpasswd databases can also be [[Samba#Changes_in_Samba_version_3.4.0|converted to the new format]].

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The user must already have a account on the server, if this is not the case, the following error will be displayed:

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{{ic|Failed to modify password entry for user "<user>"}}

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Add a new user to the Linux host with [[User Management#adduser|adduser]]. This article does not cover adding users to Windows systems.

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{{Note|smbpasswd is no longer used by default as of [[Samba#Changes_in_Samba_version_3.4.0|Samba version 3.4.0]] }}

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===Web Based Option ===

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====SWAT: Samba web administration tool====

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[http://samba.xsec.it/samba/docs/man/Samba-HOWTO-Collection/SWAT.html SWAT] is a facility that is part of the Samba suite. The main executable is called swat and is invoked by the eXtended InterNET Daemon, [[Wikipedia:xinetd|xinetd]].

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There are many and varied opinions regarding the usefulness of SWAT. No matter how hard one tries to produce the perfect configuration tool, it remains an object of personal taste. SWAT is a tool that allows Web-based configuration of Samba. It has a wizard that may help to get Samba configured quickly, it has context-sensitive help on each {{ic|smb.conf}} parameter, it provides for monitoring of current state of connection information, and it allows network-wide MS Windows network password management.[http://samba.xsec.it/samba/docs/man/Samba-HOWTO-Collection/SWAT.html]

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{{Note|An all-encompasing [[Webmin]] tool instead can also be used, and easily load the SWAT module there.}}

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{{Warning|Before using SWAT, be warned that SWAT will completely replace {{ic|smb.conf}} with a fully optimized file that has been stripped of all comments , and only non-default settings will be written to the file.}}

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To use SWAT, first install {{Pkg|xinetd}}, available in the [[Official Repositories]].

To use SWAT, first install {{Pkg|xinetd}}, available in the [[Official Repositories]].

Alternatively, add an entry for swat to {{ic|/etc/services}} and omit the first 3 lines of the configuration.

Alternatively, add an entry for swat to {{ic|/etc/services}} and omit the first 3 lines of the configuration.

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Then start xinetd [[daemon]].

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Then start the "xinetd" [[Daemons|daemon]].

The web interface can be accessed on port 901 by default:

The web interface can be accessed on port 901 by default:

{{ic|http://localhost:901/}}

{{ic|http://localhost:901/}}

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==Accessing shares==

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{{Note|An all-encompasing [[Webmin]] tool is also available, and the SWAT module can be loaded there.}}

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Shared resources from other computers on the LAN may be accessed and mounted locally by GUI or CLI methods The graphical manner is limited. Some Desktop Environments have a way to facilitate accessing these shared resources. However, most do not. In fact, most lightweight DE's and WM's offer no native method.

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There are two parts to share access. First is the underlying file system mechanism, and second is the interface which allows the user to select to mount shared resources. Some environments have the first part built into them.

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=== Starting the service ===

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Start/enable Samba via the '''smbd''' and '''nmbd''' [[daemon]]s.

−

If using KDE, it has the ability to browse Samba shares. Therefore do not need any additional packages. (However, for a GUI in the KDE System Settings, install the kdenetwork-filesharing package from [extra]. Another program choice is SMB4K.) If, however, users wish to use the share in Gnome or solely from a shell, an additional package is needed.

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==Client configuration==

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Shared resources from other computers on the LAN may be accessed and mounted locally by GUI or CLI methods. The graphical manner is limited since most lightweight Desktop Environments do not have a native way to facilitate accessing these shared resources.

−

===Accessing a Samba share from GNOME/Xfce4/LXDE===

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There are two parts to share access. First is the underlying file system mechanism, and second is the interface which allows the user to select to mount shared resources. Some environments have the first part built into them.

−

In order to access samba shares through Nautilus, first install the {{Pkg|gvfs-smb}} and {{Pkg|gnome-vfs}} packages, available in the [[Official Repositories]].

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For access under Xfce4 using Thunar or LXDE using pcmanfm, one only needs {{pkg|gvfs-smb}}, available in the [[Official Repositories]].

+

===Manual mounting===

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Install {{pkg|smbclient}} from the [[Official Repositories]].

−

From a Nautilus/Thunar window, hit {{Keypress|Ctrl+L}} or go to the "Go" menu and select "Location..." -- both actions will allow for the typing in the "Go to:" blank. Enter:

+

To list public shares on a server:

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{{ic|smb://servername/share}}

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{{bc|$ smbclient -L <hostname> -U%}}

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{{Note|If the servername is not in {{ic|/etc/hosts}}, use the IP address of the server in place of the servername.}}

+

Create a mount point for the share:

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{{bc|# mkdir /mnt/MOUNTPOINT}}

−

From a Pcmanfm window, under the "Go" menu choose "Network Files".

+

Mount the share using the {{ic|mount.cifs}} type. Not all the options listed below are needed or desirable (ie. {{ic|password}}).

However, storing passwords in a world readable file is not recommended! A safer method would be to use a credentials file. As an example, create a file and {{ic|chmod 600 <filename>}} so only the owning user can read and write to it. It should contain the following information:

If using '''systemd''' (modern installations), one can utilize the '''comment=systemd.automount''' option, which speeds up service boot by a few seconds. Also, one can map current user and group to make life a bit easier, utilizing '''uid''' and '''gid''' options:

{{note|Note: The option is user'''s''' (plural). For other filesystem types handled by mount, this option is usually ''user''; sans the "'''s'''".}}

−

If iptables is running, the '''nf_conntrack_netbios_ns''' module should be loaded:

+

This will allow users to mount it as long as the mount point resides in a directory controllable by the user; i.e. the user's home. For users to be allowed to mount and unmount the Samba shares with mount points that they do not own, use [[Samba#smbnetfs|smbnetfs]], or grant privileges using [[sudo]].

−

modprobe nf_conntrack_netbios_ns

+

−

===Accessing shares from other graphical environments===

+

===Automatic Mounting===

−

There are a number of useful programs, but they will need to have packages created for them. This can be done with the Arch package build system. The good thing about these others is that they do not require a particular environment to be installed to support them, and so they bring along less baggage.

+

There are several ways to easily browse shared resources:

+

====smbnetfs====

+

Install {{pkg|smbnetfs}}, from the [[Official Repositories]].

−

LinNeighborhood is non-specific when it comes to the DE or WM. It can be seen as a simple and generic X-based LAN browser and share mounter. Not pretty, but effective.

+

Add the following line to {{ic|/etc/fuse.conf}}:

+

{{bc|user_allow_other}}

+

and load the {{ic|fuse}} [[kernel module]]:

+

{{bc|# modprobe fuse}}

−

Other possible programs include pyneighborhood and RUmba, as well as the xffm-samba plugin for Xffm.

+

If a username and a password are required to access some of the shared folders, edit /etc/smbnetfs/.smb/smbnetfs.conf and uncomment the line starting with "auth":

−

===Accessing a Samba share from the shell===

+

{{hc|/etc/smbnetfs/.smb/smbnetfs.conf|

−

Shares may be accessed by using an automatic mounter or by using a [[#Manual share mounting|manual method]].

+

auth "hostname" "username" "password"

−

+

}}

−

====Automatic share mounting====

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−

There are several alternatives for easy share browsing.

+

−

+

−

=====smbnetfs=====

+

−

# Install {{Pkg|smbnetfs}}, available in the [[Official Repositories]].

+

−

# Add the following line to {{ic|/etc/fuse.conf}}: {{bc|user_allow_other}}

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−

# Load the {{ic|fuse}} [[kernel module]].

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−

# Start the {{ic|smbnetfs}} [[daemon]]:

+

−

+

−

If the required configuration is properly researched and done, it is claimed that all shares in the network are now automatically mounted under {{ic|/mnt/smbnet}}.

+

−

+

−

Add the following to {{ic|/etc/rc.conf}} to access the shares at boot:

+

−

MODULES=(... '''fuse''' ...)

+

−

DAEMONS=(... '''smbnetfs''' ...)

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−

+

−

If a username and a password are required to access some of the shared folders, edit {{ic|/etc/smbnetfs/.smb/smbnetfs.conf}} and uncomment the line starting with "auth":

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−

+

−

auth "hostname" "username" "password"

+

−

Then, it may be necessary to change the permissions of {{ic|/etc/smbnetfs/.smb/smbnetfs.conf}} and all include files for smbnetfs to work correctly:

+

Make sure to {{ic|chmod 600 /etc/smbnetfs/.smb/smbnetfs.conf}}, and any include files for smbnetfs to work correctly.

−

# chmod 600 /etc/smbnetfs/.smb/smbnetfs.conf

+

===== Daemon =====

+

Start and enable the '''smbnetfs''' [[daemon]].

−

=====fusesmb=====

+

====fusesmb====

−

{{Note|1=Because {{ic|smbclient 3.2.X}} is malfunctioning with {{ic|fusesmb}}, revert to using older versions if necessary. See the [http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=58434 relevant forum topic] for details.}}

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{{Note|1=Because {{ic|smbclient 3.2.X}} is malfunctioning with {{ic|fusesmb}}, revert to using older versions if necessary. See the [https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=58434 relevant forum topic] for details.}}

# Install {{AUR|fusesmb}}, available in the [[Arch User Repository]].

# Install {{AUR|fusesmb}}, available in the [[Arch User Repository]].

Line 160:

Line 156:

# Mount the shares: {{bc|# fusesmb -o allow_other /mnt/fusesmb}}

# Mount the shares: {{bc|# fusesmb -o allow_other /mnt/fusesmb}}

−

=====Autofs=====

+

====autofs====

See [[Autofs]] for information on the kernel-based automounter for Linux.

See [[Autofs]] for information on the kernel-based automounter for Linux.

−

====Manual share mounting====

+

===File Manager Configuration===

−

1. Use [[smbclient]] to browse shares from the shell. To list any public shares on a server:

+

====Nautilus====

−

$ smbclient -L <hostname> -U%

+

In order to access samba shares through Nautilus, install the {{pkg|gvfs-smb}} and {{pkg|gnome-vfs}} packages, available in the [[Official Repositories]].

−

2. Create the mount point for the share:

+

Press {{keypress|Ctrl+L}} and enter {{ic|smb://servername/share}} in the location bar to access your share.

−

# mkdir /mnt/MOUNTPOINT

+

−

3. Mount the share using {{ic|mount.cifs}}. Keep in mind that not all options may be needed nor desirable, such as {{ic|password}}:

+

The mounted share is likely to be present at {{ic|/run/user/<your UID>/gvfs}} in the filesystem.

For access using Thunar or pcmanfm, install {{pkg|gvfs-smb}}, available in the Official Repositories.

−

;{{ic|MOUNTPOINT}}: The local directory where the share will be mounted to

+

−

;{{ic|-o [options]}}: Specifies options for {{ic|mount.cifs}}

+

−

:;{{ic|user}}: Username used to mount the share

+

−

:;{{ic|password}}: The shared directory's password

+

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:;{{ic|workgroup}}: Used to specify the workgroup

+

−

:;{{ic|ip}}: The IP address of the server -- if the system is unable to find the Windows computer by name (DNS, WINS, hosts entry, etc.)

+

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{{Note|Abstain from using trailing directory ('''/''') characters. Using {{ic|//SERVER/SHARENAME'''/'''}} will not work.}}

+

Go to {{ic|smb://servername/share}}, to access your share.

−

As CIFS refuses to mount [http://jmatrix.net/dao/case/case.jsp?case=7F000001-1766806-11E30195CFB-2593 unsecured samba share], the ''sec=none'' option needs to be used (and the user and password from the options list need to be removed).

+

−

If the mount command cannot resolve the server’s address but ''smbclient'' can, adding “wins” to the ''hosts'' line in /etc/[[nsswitch.conf]] may help. The corresponding /lib/libnss_wins.so driver must also be present, which is provided by the {{pkg|samba}} (server) package.

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====KDE====

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KDE, has the ability to browse Samba shares built in. Therefore do not need any additional packages. However, for a GUI in the KDE System Settings, install the {{pkg|kdenetwork-filesharing}} package from the [[Official Repositories]]

−

4. To unmount the share, use:

+

====Other Graphical Environments====

−

# umount /mnt/MOUNTPOINT

+

There are a number of useful programs, but they may need to have packages created for them. This can be done with the Arch package build system. The good thing about these others is that they do not require a particular environment to be installed to support them, and so they bring along less baggage.

−

=====Adding the share to {{ic|fstab}}=====

+

* {{pkg|pyneighborhood}} is available in the [[Official Repositories]].

−

Add the following to {{ic|/etc/[[fstab]]}} for easy mounting:

+

* LinNeighborhood, RUmba, xffm-samba plugin for Xffm are not available in the official repositories or the [[AUR]]. As they are not officially (or even unofficially supported), they may be obsolete and may not work at all.

The {{ic|noauto}} option disables mounting it automatically at boot and {{ic|noatime}} increases performance by skipping inode access times. However, the {{ic|noatime}} is known to cause mount [https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?pid=1117000 problems] with kernel 3.4.x:

+

−

+

−

# mount error(22): Invalid argument

+

−

# Refer to the mount.cifs(8) manual page (e.g. man mount.cifs)

+

−

+

−

After adding the previous line, the syntax to mount files becomes simpler:

+

−

# mount /mnt/MOUNTPOINT

+

−

+

−

Another option, to keep passwords out of sight, is to use the 'credentials' option:

It is highly recommended to chmod 700 this file so that only the owning user can read and write to it.

+

−

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−

If adding a Samba share to {{ic|fstab}}, the {{ic|netfs}} daemon should also be added to {{ic|[[rc.conf]]}}, somewhere after the [[network]] daemon. The {{ic|netfs}} daemon will mount network partitions at boot and, more importantly, unmount network partitions at shutdown. Even if using the {{ic|noauto}} option in {{ic|fstab}}, the {{ic|netfs}} daemon should be used. Without it any network share that is mounted when shutting down will cause the {{ic|network}} daemon to wait for the connection to time out, considerably extending poweroff time.

+

−

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−

=====Allowing users to mount=====

+

−

Before enabling access to the mount commands, {{ic|fstab}} needs to be modified. Add the {{ic|users}} options to the entry in {{ic|/etc/fstab}}:

{{Note|The option is {{ic|user'''s'''}} (plural). For other filesystem types handled by mount, this option is usually ''user''; sans the "'''s'''".}}

+

−

+

−

This will allow users to mount it aslong as the mount point resides in a directory ''controllable'' by the user; i.e. the user's home. For users to be allowed to mount and unmount the Samba shares with mount points that they do not own, use [[#smbnetfs]], or grant privileges using [[sudo]].

+

−

+

−

== Tips and tricks ==

+

−

+

−

=== Share files without a username and password ===

+

−

+

−

==== Option 1 - Force guest connections ====

+

−

+

−

Edit {{ic|/etc/samba/smb.conf}} and change the following line:

+

−

+

−

security = user

+

−

+

−

to

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−

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−

security = share

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−

+

−

==== Option 2 - Allow guest and User connections ====

+

−

+

−

Edit {{ic|/etc/samba/smb.conf}} and add the following line:

+

−

+

−

map to guest = Bad User

+

−

+

−

After this line

+

−

+

−

security = user

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−

+

−

Restrict the shares data to a specific interface replace:

+

−

+

−

; interfaces = 192.168.12.2/24 192.168.13.2/24

+

−

+

−

with:

+

−

+

−

interfaces = lo eth0

+

−

bind interfaces only = true

+

−

+

−

Optionally edit the account that access the shares, edit the following line:

+

−

+

−

; guest account = nobody

+

−

+

−

The last step is to create share directory (for write access make writable = yes):

+

−

+

−

[Public Share]

+

−

path = /path/to/public/share

+

−

available = yes

+

−

browsable = yes

+

−

public = yes

+

−

writable = no

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−

+

−

=== Sample configuration file ===

+

−

+

−

The configuration that worked for one user:

+

−

[global]

+

−

workgroup = WORKGROUP

+

−

server string = Samba Server

+

−

netbios name = PC_NAME

+

−

security = share

+

−

; the line below is important! If you have permission issues make

+

−

; sure the user here is the same as the user of the folder you

+

−

; want to share

+

−

guest account = mark

+

−

username map = /etc/samba/smbusers

+

−

name resolve order = hosts wins bcast

+

−

wins support = no<br />

+

−

[public]

+

−

comment = Public Share

+

−

path = /path/to/public/share

+

−

available = yes

+

−

browsable = yes

+

−

public = yes

+

−

writable = no

+

−

+

−

=== Adding network shares using KDE4 GUI ===

+

−

How to configure the folder sharing in KDE4. Simple file sharing limits user shared folders to their home directory and read-only access. Advanced file sharing gives full semantics of Samba with no limits to shared folders but requires su or sudo root permissions.

The first result is another system; the second happens to be the client from where this scan was performed.

+

−

+

−

3. Now that systems with port 139 open are revealed, use {{ic|nmblookup}} to check for NetBIOS names:

+

−

{{hc

+

−

|$ nmblookup -A 192.168.1.1

+

−

|Looking up status of 192.168.1.1

+

−

PUTER <00> - B <ACTIVE>

+

−

HOMENET <00> - <GROUP> B <ACTIVE>

+

−

PUTER <03> - B <ACTIVE>

+

−

'''PUTER <20> - B <ACTIVE>'''

+

−

HOMENET <1e> - <GROUP> B <ACTIVE>

+

−

USERNAME <03> - B <ACTIVE>

+

−

HOMENET <1d> - B <ACTIVE>

+

−

MSBROWSE <01> - <GROUP> B <ACTIVE>

+

−

}}

+

−

+

−

Regardless of the output, look for '''<20>''', which shows the host with open services.

+

−

+

−

4. Use {{ic|smbclient}} to list which services are shared on ''PUTER''. If prompted for a password, pressing enter should still display the list:

+

−

{{hc

+

−

|$ smbclient -L \\PUTER

+

−

|<nowiki>

+

−

Sharename Type Comment

+

−

--------- ---- -------

+

−

MY_MUSIC Disk

+

−

SHAREDDOCS Disk

+

−

PRINTER$ Disk

+

−

PRINTER Printer

+

−

IPC$ IPC Remote Inter Process Communication

+

−

+

−

Server Comment

+

−

--------- -------

+

−

PUTER

+

−

+

−

Workgroup Master

+

−

--------- -------

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−

HOMENET PUTER

+

−

</nowiki>}}

+

−

+

−

This shows which folders are shared and can be mounted locally. See: [[#Accessing shares]]

+

−

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−

=== Remote control of Windows computer ===

+

−

+

−

Samba offers a set of tools for communication with Windows. These can be handy if access to a Windows computer through remote desktop is not an option, as shown by some examples.

+

−

+

−

Send shutdown command with a comment:

+

−

+

−

$ net rpc shutdown -C "comment" -I IPADDRESS -U USERNAME%PASSWORD

+

−

A forced shutdown instead can be invoked by changing -C with comment to a single -f. For a restart, only add -r, followed by a -C or -f.

+

−

+

−

Stop and start services:

+

−

+

−

$ net rpc service stop SERVICENAME -I IPADDRESS -U USERNAME%PASSWORD

+

−

+

−

To see all possible net rpc command:

+

−

+

−

$ net rpc

+

−

+

−

=== Block certain file extensions on samba share ===

+

−

+

−

Samba offers an option to block files with certain patterns, like file extensions. This option can be used to prevent dissemination of viruses or to disuade users from wasting space with certain files:

A known Windows 7 bug that causes "mount error(12): cannot allocate memory" on an otherwise perfect cifs share on the Linux end can be fixed by setting a few registry keys on the Windows box as follows:

The default passdb backend has been changed to 'tdbsam'! That breaks existing setups using the 'smbpasswd' backend without explicit declaration!

+

−

+

−

To stick to the 'smbpasswd' backend try changing this in {{ic|/etc/samba/smb.conf}}:

+

−

+

−

passdb backend = smbpasswd

+

−

+

−

or convert the smbpasswd entries using:

+

−

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sudo pdbedit -i smbpasswd -e tdbsam

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=== Error: Value too large for defined data type ===

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Some applications might encounter this error whith every attempt to open a file mounted in smbfs/cifs:

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Value too large for defined data type

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The solution[https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/479266/comments/5] is to add this options to the smbfs/cifs mount options (in /etc/fstab for example):

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,nounix,noserverino

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''It works on Arch Linux up-to-date (2009-12-02)''

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=== I need to restart samba in order get my shares visible by other ===

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If upon booting, the samba shares cannot be accessed from any client, check the following:

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* Make sure that the samba daemon has been added to the DAEMONS array of /etc/rc.conf (after the 'network' daemon)

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* The ''network'' service is not started in the background (prefixed with @ ). Removing the '@' in front of 'network' can fix the issue. Reboot to check.

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My guess on what has happened: When samba starts, the network is not properly initialized, so the server does not know on which interface to listen and thus fails to initialize correctly.

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In case starting samba in the correct order still doesn't help, try inserting a delay command into /etc/rc.d/samba:

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#!/bin/bash

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. /etc/rc.conf

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. /etc/rc.d/functions

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[ -f /etc/conf.d/samba ] && . /etc/conf.d/samba

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[ -z "$SAMBA_DAEMONS" ] && SAMBA_DAEMONS=(smbd nmbd)

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case "$1" in

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start)

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rc=0

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stat_busy "Starting Samba Server"

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sleep 5

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if [ ! -x /var/run/samba ] ; then

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# rest of the file not posted here.

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Only the '''sleep 5''' line is inserted, everything else is as from the Arch repositories.

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It causes a delay of 5 seconds before starting the samba server. In order to avoid the additional boot-time, start the Samba daemon in background, as described above.

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The file /etc/rc.d/samba is part of the samba package, though. Therefore, manually apply this change every time Samba gets updated.

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=== Sharing a folder fails ===

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If sharing a folder from Dolphin (file manager) and everything seems ok at first, but after restarting Dolphin (file manager) the share icon is gone from the shared folder, and also some output like this in terminal (Konsole) output:

Revision as of 16:36, 24 February 2013

Samba is a re-implementation of the SMB/CIFS networking protocol, it facilitates file and printer sharing among Linux and Windows systems as an alternative to NFS. Some users say that Samba is easily configured and that operation is very straight-forward. However, many new users run into problems with its complexity and non-intuitive mechanism. It is strongly suggested that the user stick close to the following directions.

Required packages

Server

Client

Only smbclient is required to access files from a Samba/SMB/CIFS server. It is also available from the Official Repositories.

Server configuration

The /etc/samba/smb.conf file must be created before starting the service. Once that is set up, users may opt for using an advanced configuration interface like SWAT.

As root, copy the default Samba configuration file to /etc/samba/smb.conf:

# cp /etc/samba/smb.conf.default /etc/samba/smb.conf

Creating a share

Edit /etc/samba/smb.conf, scroll down to the Share Definitions section. The default configuration automatically creates a share for each user's home directory. It also creates a share for printers by default.

There are a number of commented sample configurations included. More information about available options for shared resources can be found in man smb.conf. Here is the on-line version.

Adding a user

To log into a Samba share, a samba user is needed. The user must already have a Linux user account with the same name on the server, otherwise running the next command will fail:

Web-based configuration (SWAT)

SWAT (Samba Web Administration Tool) is a facility that is part of the Samba suite. Whether or not to use this tool remains a matter of personal preference. It does allow for quick configuration and has context-sensitive help for each smb.conf parameter. SWAT also provides an interface for monitoring of current state of connection(s), and allows network-wide MS Windows network password management.

Warning: Before using SWAT, be warned that SWAT will completely replace /etc/samba/smb.conf with a fully optimized file that has been stripped of all comments, and only non-default settings will be written to the file.

Starting the service

Client configuration

Shared resources from other computers on the LAN may be accessed and mounted locally by GUI or CLI methods. The graphical manner is limited since most lightweight Desktop Environments do not have a native way to facilitate accessing these shared resources.

There are two parts to share access. First is the underlying file system mechanism, and second is the interface which allows the user to select to mount shared resources. Some environments have the first part built into them.

Add Share to /etc/fstab

However, storing passwords in a world readable file is not recommended! A safer method would be to use a credentials file. As an example, create a file and chmod 600 <filename> so only the owning user can read and write to it. It should contain the following information:

If using systemd (modern installations), one can utilize the comment=systemd.automount option, which speeds up service boot by a few seconds. Also, one can map current user and group to make life a bit easier, utilizing uid and gid options:

User mounting

Note: Note: The option is users (plural). For other filesystem types handled by mount, this option is usually user; sans the "s".

This will allow users to mount it as long as the mount point resides in a directory controllable by the user; i.e. the user's home. For users to be allowed to mount and unmount the Samba shares with mount points that they do not own, use smbnetfs, or grant privileges using sudo.

File Manager Configuration

Nautilus

Press Template:Keypress and enter smb://servername/share in the location bar to access your share.

The mounted share is likely to be present at /run/user/<your UID>/gvfs in the filesystem.

Thunar and pcmanfm

For access using Thunar or pcmanfm, install gvfs-smb, available in the Official Repositories.

Go to smb://servername/share, to access your share.

KDE

KDE, has the ability to browse Samba shares built in. Therefore do not need any additional packages. However, for a GUI in the KDE System Settings, install the kdenetwork-filesharing package from the Official Repositories

Other Graphical Environments

There are a number of useful programs, but they may need to have packages created for them. This can be done with the Arch package build system. The good thing about these others is that they do not require a particular environment to be installed to support them, and so they bring along less baggage.

LinNeighborhood, RUmba, xffm-samba plugin for Xffm are not available in the official repositories or the AUR. As they are not officially (or even unofficially supported), they may be obsolete and may not work at all.

See also

Tips and tricks - A dedicated page for alternate configurations and suggestions.

Troubleshooting - A dedicated page for solving common (or not so common) issues.